Denture.



$.11. SUPPLEE.

DENTURE;

APPLICATION-FILED SEPT. 12, 1910.

Patented June 6,1911.

SAMUEL G. SUPPLEE, OF EAST ORANGE, NEW JERSEY.

DENTURE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed September 12, 1910.

Patented June 6, 1911.

Serial No. 581,656.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL Gr. SUPPLEE, a citizen of the United States, residing at East Orange, Essex county, New Jersey, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Dentures, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to dentures and, broadly speaking, consists in providing for use in connection with bridge work an artificial removable gum portion which operates and embodies the advantages later described.

In the accompanying drawings-Figure 1 is a front view of a set of teeth, showing a portion of the gum and the removable artificial gum in place. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the removable gum portion, removed. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the parts shown Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a central section on the line w-w Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a view of a side elevation of a modification. Fig. 6 is a section on the line yy Fig. 1.

First referring to the construction illustrated in Figs. 1 to 4:, 1 represents the natural gum in the upper part of the mouth, in this particular instance, my invention being shown as applied to a bridge adapted to the front and upper part of the mouth. 2-2 represent natural teeth. 33 represent the abutment teeth of a bridge of artificial teeth, the balance of the teeth on said bridge being indicated at 4.4c. In many cases where bridge work is required, it happens that such a recession of the gum occurs where the bridge is to be applied that fixed bridge work can not be successfully employed unless special artificial teeth of abnormal length are required in the construction of the bridge producing in the latter case such an unsightly appearance as to practically prohibit the use of a bridge so constructed. By my improvement I construct a bridge of artificial teeth corresponding in appearance and length to the normal teeth which when applied leave a space between the necks of said teeth and said gum. I then construct what I will term an artificial gum block 5 contoured properly to the root ends of the several teeth and to the gum adjacent thereto and I also so construct this artificial gum block that it may be detachably or separably held in the space between said artificial teeth and the abnormally receded gum. Any suitable fastening means or steadying device may be employed. In Fig. 2 I have shown dowels 66, which constitute one suitable form of fastening means appropriate in certain cases. Obviously, the many varying conditions that confront the operator in work of this character requires the exercise of that mechanical skill expected in dental mechanical work, which, of course, comprehends the substitution of other suitable fastening or steadying devices in place of the dowels 66. In the particular case illustrated in Figs. 1 to 4, no tying-in mem ber is required since the muscle of the upper lip overlying said gum block will serve to effectively hold said block in its proper place under all conditions. By making said gum block removable, very substantial advantages are obtained in that a quick and thorough cleansing of the bridge and adjacent parts may be easily accomplished. Secondly, the presence of the gum block in the front of the mouth restores the normal appearance. Thirdly, the gum block under all conditions operates as a means to plump out to the desired and natural extent the face of the wearer where otherwise the abnormally receded gum would allow the lips or check to sink in.

In Figs. 5 and 6 I have shown a somewhat modified form in which the invention is applied to a bridge at the side. In this particular instance I have illustrated a bridge having an anchorage or abutment at one end only. In this case, the teeth 77 illustrate the abutment teeth, while the teeth 8-8 rep resent the artificial bridge teeth. In this instance the gum above the teeth 8-8 has receded to such an extent that said teeth 8 will not rest thereon or be supported thereby, and to that end I have provided, as in the first mentioned case, a suitable filler-in piece or gum block. In this particular instance the gum block comprises the outer member 9 and the inner member 10, which are suitably contoured to the gum and teeth, so as to fill in the space and to successfully support the bridge teeth. The sections 9-1O in this instance may overlap, as shown in Fig. 6, and may be secured against separation by a removable dowel or screw 11, which illustrates one suitable form of mechanical means for securing said two members 9 and 10 together, any other suitable or appropriate fastening means being, of course, permissible.

It is obvious that in the forms shown in Figs. 5 and 6 one or more of the teeth in the bridge might be connected with the gum block 9 or 10 instead of with the bar of the bridge, in which event, of course, such teeth as are connected to the removable gum block would be separable bodily with said gum block. Such a modification is too obvious to require separate illustration and is merely mentioned as an example of obvious modifications that are bound to occur to the mechanic skilled in this art, all of which I contemplate as being within the scope of this invention.

What I claim is:

1. In a denture, a bridge, a separable gum block at the base of said bridge, said gum block being made of two separable pieces one for the outside and one for the inside.

2. In a denture, abridge arranged to be permanently secured in a mouth, part of said bridge being spaced away from the natural gum, and a removable gum block occupying the space between said bridge and said natural gum and acting as a support for the. former.

3. In a denture, a bridge, a separable gum block at the base of said bridge, said gum block being made of two separable pieces, one for the outside and one for the inside, and a locking device for uniting both pieces.

4. In a denture, a bridge arranged to be secured in a mouth, part of said bridge being spaced away from the natural gum, a removable. filler block in said space extending from said bridge to said natural gum.

SAMUEL Gr. SUPPLEE.

Witnesses:

R. C. MITCHELL, CHAS. A. PEARD.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

